


Wake Up, Sweetheart

by breathingdestiel



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Best Friends, Brief Vomiting, Caring Dean Winchester, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, M/M, Minor Lisa Braeden/Dean Winchester, Romantic Dean, Roommates, Sick Castiel, Valentine's Day, mentioned Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-20 18:33:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13723578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breathingdestiel/pseuds/breathingdestiel
Summary: “Cas, baby, c’mon. Wake up,” he begged. “Wake up, sweetheart.”His heart thumped as images of Cas never waking up raced through his brain. He didn’t remember the last time he was this scared.Written for Hey, Sweetheart challenge.





	Wake Up, Sweetheart

**Author's Note:**

> This is unbeta'd unfortunately.

Dean was in the middle of making tea for Cas when his phone rang. He checked the caller id and smiled.

“What’s up, nerd?”

“Hey, Dean,” his little brother’s voice greeted him warmly. “Just checking to see if we’re still on for tonight.”

Dean frowned, racking his brains, but unable to remember what plans they had made. “Tonight?”

“The double date,” Sam said and Dean could _hear_ his bitch face. “I can’t believe you forgot.”

Having no idea when he had even agreed to a double date, Dean silently cursed himself, but he definitely didn’t want to admit it to _Sam_ of all people.

 “I didn’t forget. I was just distracted for a moment,” he responded. “And don’t worry the date is still on.”

“Problems at home?” Sam teased. Just like he always did when the subject of him and Cas still living together came up.

“Cas is sick and you know how grumpy he gets when he’s sick. I’ve been taking care of him.”

Grumpy perhaps, but Dean didn’t mind a bit. In fact, he found it endearing.

Speaking of Cas, he remembered that he ought to put some honey in Cas’s tea. He knew how much Cas loved it.

“He is an adult, you don’t _have to_ take care of him,” Sam said.

“I know that,” Dean frowned, not understanding what Sam was getting at. “But he’s my best friend. I _want to_ take care of him.”

“Yeah, you always were a mother hen.”

“Hey, you love it,” Dean grinned. “I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah, Eileen and I will meet you two at Donnie’s, okay?”

Dean’s lips pulled up into a satisfied smile. Now he knew where they were going without having to ask and admitting he’d forgotten. “Of course.”

After hanging up, Dean leaned against the counter and scrolled through his phone to find a note or something that would remind him when _exactly_ he had agreed to this.

“Dean!” Cas yelled, his usually deep voice even deeper. “Where is my tea?”

“Shit!” Dean put down his phone and hurried to Cas’s room, carrying the hot cup carefully. In the bed, Cas was laying surrounded by blankets and used tissues. “Here it is, your Majesty.”

Cas smiled at him as he put the cup on the bedside table before his red, puffy nose scrunched up and he sneezed. “Thank you, Dean,” he rasped out. 

“No problem. You need anything else?” Dean asked and started picking up the tissues that had fallen onto the floor.

“You don’t have to do that.” Cas tried to grab his arm, but he was too weak to stop Dean.

“I don’t mind,” Dean told him as he discarded the tissues. “So. Sam called. Apparently, me and Lisa are going on a double date with him and Eileen. Scoot over.”

“Apparently?” Cas asked while making room for Dean to sit. “Did you forget about it?”

“Dude, I don’t even remember when we talked about it. Fuck, did I even ask Lisa about it?” As he went to check his phone, he remembered that he had left it in the kitchen. Fortunately, he didn’t need it because Cas proceeded to tell him everything he wanted to know.

“Remember last week? When they were here for a dinner and Eileen said she wished they’d go to an actual restaurant sometimes. You texted Lisa after they left.”

Dean rubbed his face. “Yeah, I remember now. Why didn’t you remind me?” He whined and Cas shot him one of his deadly glares. “Okay, okay. Don’t get your panties in a twist.”

With a smirk, he ruffled Cas’s hair, using the opportunity to mess with him when he was too weak to fight back.

“Stop it, you asshole,” Cas grumbled, but let out a breathy laugh nevertheless.

“Will you be okay?” Dean turned serious, gazing down at Cas, “I can cancel.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Cas growled. Still, his lips were curved up slightly and Dean knew him well enough to see that Cas was touched by his offer.

“I’ll leave my phone on, so you can call me if you need me.”

“Don’t worry, Dean. I’ll probably be sleeping by then anyway.”

“Okay, but-”

“Dean,” Cas warned. “I’ll be fine. Now go, or you’ll get sick too and won’t be able to go on your date.”

Groaning, Dean threw his head back. “I hate double dates. And I don’t even know Lisa that well yet… It’s probably gonna be awkward as hell. Why the fuck did I agree to this?”

Cas chuckled. “We all know how persuasive Eileen is…”

When he glanced down, Cas had his eyes closed, so Dean allowed himself to look. Allowed his eyes to trail across Cas’s rosy cheeks, his long eyelashes, his plush lips, his ruffled hair, his—

His head snapped back as he forced himself to shake off that train of thought. Clearing his throat, he glued his gaze to the wall across the room. He hoped he had gotten over his best friend since he started dating Lisa, but guess not. God, he was so fucked.

“Dean? You okay?” Cas asked and Dean’s treacherous eyes flew immediately to him.

“Yeah, just got lost in thoughts.”

For a second, Cas scrutinized him before hauling himself into a sitting position. “I think I’m going to take a nap after I drink the tea.”

Dean carefully passed him the still hot cup. “That’s a good idea, you need to rest.”

“Don’t you need to get ready for your date?” Cas threw him a side glance while he sipped the tea.

“I have like three, four hours,” Dean scoffed. “I’ve got time.”

One corner of Cas’s lips pulled up and he raised an eyebrow, “Is it three or four? Do you even know at what time you’re meeting?”

“At 6,” Dean said, unwilling to admit he had no idea. “7?”

“At 7,” Cas confirmed.

“See, told ya I knew.” Dean bumped their shoulders together, making Cas laugh softly into his cup.

 

* * *

 

After he put on his aftershave and checked his hair one last time, Dean peeked inside Cas’s room. Enveloped by two fluffy blankets, Cas was snoring, so he closed the door and huffed. He must really be gone on the guy if he thought his snores were adorable.

Lisa lived only two blocks away, so they agreed to meet outside Dean’s apartment and drive to the restaurant. When he left the building, he spotted Lisa by the Impala. She was hugging herself and stroking her arms, shivering so hard it was obvious even from the distance.  

“Hey, Lis,” Dean greeted her and she smiled sweetly at him.

“Dean, hi, ” she said and leaned up to peck his lips. 

“Sorry for waiting,” he said. “C’mon, you’ll warm up in the car.”

They settled in and just as Lisa asked him about his day, he realized he had forgotten his wallet at home.

“I’ll be back in a sec, okay?”

“Actually, can I come up? I always have to pee when I’m cold,” she admitted sheepishly.

He chuckled, “Yeah, it’s no problem. Just don’t make a lot of noise. Cas is sleeping.”

As Lisa used the bathroom, Dean headed to grab the wallet from his room.

“Oh my God,” Lisa screamed.

“What is it?” Dean yelled out. Upon entering the bathroom, he spotted Lisa kneeling beside an unconscious Cas and rushed to his friend’s side. “Fuck, Cas.”

Checking if he was bleeding from anywhere, he found no blood, but that brought him only a tad of relief since Cas could still have a concussion. To wake him up, he cupped Cas’s face with one hand and shook him lightly, while his other hand grasped Cas’s sweater at his chest.

“Cas, baby, c’mon. Wake up,” he begged. “Wake up, sweetheart.”

His heart thumped as images of Cas never waking up raced through his brain. He didn’t remember the last time he was this scared.

“Dean,” Cas murmured, and his eyelids fluttered open.

“Thank God,” Dean sighed and leaned down, closer to Cas’s face. “Are you okay?” He asked as he cupped both of Cas’s cheeks.

“I… I thought you went on a date,” Cas said.

Shaking his head, Dean helped Cas sit up. “You idiot! Don’t ever do this again!”

“I’m alright, Dean,” Cas reassured him. “Oh. Hello, Lisa.”

Startled, Dean turned around to see Lisa looming over them, biting her lip. He completely forgot about her.

“Hey, Castiel. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Cas opened his mouth to respond, surely about to spew some crap about being fine, but Dean was having none of it.

“He’s not fine. You’re going to bed, and you’re not leaving it until I said so. Capiche?” He hauled Cas up and led him to his room. “We should go to the hospital too. Make sure you don’t have a concussion.”

“There’s no need for a hospital,” Cas said. “I didn’t fall down. I got dizzy so I sat on the floor.”

“And then passed out.”

Shrugging, Cas smartassed him, “But I didn’t collapse.”

“I shouldn’t have left you alone,” Dean muttered as he tuck Cas in. “I’m gonna call Garth just in case.”

“Garth is a dentist, Dean,” Cas protested like he didn’t already know it was pointless.

“You don’t have any right to argue, mister,” Dean pointed a finger at him. “Now, sleep.”

“I still have to pee.” Cas glared at him, but how could Dean take him seriously when he could barely keep his eyes open.

“I’ll get you a bottle.”

“Ugh,” was the last sound Cas made before he turned his back to Dean and fell asleep.

 

* * *

 

“Is he alright?” Lisa asked as he entered the kitchen, her presence startling him once again.

“He’s not hurt, but he’s burning up. I’m sorry, Lis, we’ll have to cancel the date. I have to take care of him.”

She nodded. “I get it. Don’t forget to call your brother, though. They’ll worry.”

“Shit, you’re right.” Dean grabbed his phone, and shot Sam a message, explaining why they wouldn’t come. “I really am sorry. Maybe we could do this some other time?”

Lisa looked at him like he grew another head. “Dean, I like you, but I’m not going to waste my time dating a guy who’s in love with someone else.”

Dean’s eyes widened. “Wha-“

Lisa waved her hand in a direction of the bathroom. “You called him baby a-and sweetheart and- you obviously love him.”

“Do you think he heard?” Dean blurted out before realizing he should at least try to defend himself. “I- I mean… I don’t…”

“My point exactly.”

“I’m sorry, Lis,” he sighed.

“Don’t worry about it,” she waved him off, but Dean could tell she was a little hurt. “At least I found out before we got more serious. But you should do something about this. It’s not fair to other people.”

“I thought I was over him,” Dean whispered. “I didn’t mean to lead you on.”

“How long…?”

Dean shrugged. “Since high school, I guess.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

They lulled into silence and Dean the bridge of his nose, exhausted from the conversation.

“You should tell him,” Lisa said finally. “You deserve to be happy, Dean.”

“Let’s not talk about this,” Dean said. “I can you call you an Uber if you want.”

She looked like she wanted to argue, but her shoulders sagged and she smiled weakly, “That’d be nice.”

 

* * *

 

A couple of days later, Cas was as good as new. They fell back into their routine, but Dean yearned for a change. He wanted to kiss Cas, and hold his hand, and go on stupid double dates with him. Lisa’s words played on a loop in his mind and he decided that he might give it a go.

Yes, he and Cas had been friends for over a ten years, ever since they met in their freshman year, so if Cas didn’t feel the same, their friendship might suffer. But, on the other hand, Dean was positive that it was strong enough to mend it back if needed. And there was always a chance Cas felt the same. That thought made his stomach flutter in excitement.

He decided to tell Cas on his birthday. Or well, on a day they went out with their friends to celebrate his birthday. He formed a perfect plan and as the date neared, he couldn’t stop fantasizing about everything he would be able to do with and to Cas once they start dating.

Naturally, it didn’t go as he planned. The nerves got to him, so he drank some whiskey to calm down. Then he drank some more and the evening ended with Cas holding his head as he puked his guts out in their toilet. Come the morning, he was too embarrassed to even think about confessing his feelings.

After the original plan was derailed, he wanted to give up completely, but ended up setting up a new day—Valentine’s day. There was no better—no more romantic day—to do it.

The new idea was to prepare a candlelight dinner for them and then tell Cas how he felt. Simple, but still romantic. He was sure Cas would love it.

Two days before the big day, he was once again a bundle of nerves, enough that Cas noticed. Dean could feel Cas’s questioning eyes on him throughout the day, which only unnerved him further.

“What’s going on with you, Dean?” Cas sneaked up to him as he was putting away the dishes.

“Nothing!” Dean squeaked, turning around to face Cas.

“Are you sick?”

“No, I’m fine, Cas.”

Squinting, Cas stepped into his personal space. “You’re lying. You’re hiding something.”

“I’m not,” Dean said as he tried to escape from Cas’s scrutinizing gaze.

“Dean,” Cas spoke with soft and soothing voice. “You know you can tell me anything. Did something happen at work? Or with Sam? Maybe I can help-“

“I love you!” Dean shouted before burying his head in his palms. “Fuck.”

“What did you say?” Cas whispered.

Dean shook his head. He couldn’t believe this was happening. “I fucked up.”

Cas pried his hands away from his face and locked their eyes together. He didn’t look angry or disgusted, but... intrigued… happy? Dean didn’t dare to speculate.  

“What did you fuck up?” He asked gently.  

“I just… blurted it out.”

“That you love me,” Cas stated it like Dean’s whole world wasn’t spiraling down.

Dean swallowed hard. “Yeah. I’ve l-loved you for years and then Lisa found out and told me I should tell you. But it had to be perfect, so I-I wanted to make you a dinner for Valentine’s day and tell you then, but you were standing there and looking at me and your voice…,” he trailed off when he realized he was babbling

Cas smiled and leaned impossibly closer. “You don’t have to be sorry. You didn’t fuck anything up.”

“I didn’t?” His voice came out much more high-pitched than he cared to admit, but it didn’t matter because Cas put his hands on his cheeks. Dean couldn’t help but lean into the touch, closing his eyes and savoring the moment..

“No, Dean. I love you too. I have for years,” Cas admitted and Dean forced his eyes open to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. “And don’t worry, I don’t need whatever your idea of ‘perfect’ is because as long as I’m with you…”

“You sap,” Dean said, a huge grin plastered on his face.

“Like you’re not,” Cas smirked. “But I’d still like a dinner for Valentine’s day.”

Still quite unsure this was real, Dean let out a shaky, “Yeah?”

“Yes. And maybe we can watch a movie afterwards.”

Dean frowned. “We always do that.”

“But now we can cuddle,” Cas said with a teasing smile.

Nodding, Dean agreed. His brain finally caught up with the moment, he wrapped his arms around Cas’s waist. “That sounds amazing.”

“There’s something else we could do now.” Cas’s eyes darted down and Dean caught the message loud and clear.

“Kiss?” Dean asked, licking his lips in anticipation.

“Kiss,” Cas agreed and pressed their mouth together. The first touch made Dean shiver and he pressed his whole body closer to Cas. As they pulled apart, he was left breathless and it was one hundred percent better than he had ever imagined.  

“Can we go cuddle and make out in my bed?” Dean asked eagerly.

“After you’ve finished the dishes.”

Cas patted Dean’s butt and walked out of the kitchen as Dean stared after him with a dazed smile. What a lucky son of a bitch he was. 

**Author's Note:**

> What did you guys think? I had this idea for years and I finally got to write it.
> 
> Find me on [tumblr](http://breathingdestiel.tumblr.com/).


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